Tech's 2012 volleyball season to feature a shake up to the status quo

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle volleyball
team looks to climb back up the ladder in the Ohio Valley
Conference in 2012, but coach John Blair's squad will need to
navigate a new schedule featuring divisional play in the
league.

“I think our schedule is a little more balanced this
season in terms of the quality of opponents we’re
facing,” Blair said. “We will be challenged early in
the season with the tournaments and that will carry over into the
conference schedule.”

Tech will take part in 28 matches this season, eight of which
will take place on Tech's home court in Eblen Center. The Golden
Eagles begin their season with three matches each in four
tournaments.

“We are potentially going to face five or six teams that
could win their conferences by the end of the season,” Blair
said. “It will be a good balance of teams and we should see
some success if we take care of business on our end.”

TTU opens the season at the UT Chattanooga Invitational (Aug.
24-25) and will square off with USC Upstate, Alcorn State and
Chattanooga, before heading to Xavier (Aug. 31 – Sept. 1) to
take on the Musketeers, Marquette and Ole Miss.

“The tournament at Xavier will feature some more
recognizable programs, but we should be able to go up there and
compete with them,” Blair said.

The Golden Eagles will then take on Western Kentucky, IUPUI and
Dayton in the Western Kentucky Invitational (Sept. 7-8), before
wrapping up their non-conference play at the Samford Invitational
(Sept. 14-15) as they take on Samford, Gardner-Webb and Alcorn
State.

Tech begins conference play on the road as it takes on Murray
State (Sept. 21) and Austin Peay (Sept. 22), before opening its
home schedule against Jacksonville State (Sept. 25).

Along with the beginning of the new season, 2012 will also
feature a new setup for volleyball in the OVC. With Belmont and SIU
Edwardsville fully eligible for postseason play, the OVC will now
have its 12 teams split into two divisions.

“With the new divisions, you’ve got to be ready to
come and play,” Blair said. “With just 16 games you
have less time to make up ground and you get to face half the teams
just one time each.”

Tech will be in the OVC's East Division and will be joined by
Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, defending champion Morehead State,
Jacksonville State and Tennessee State. TTU will take on each team
in the East Division twice, once at home and once on the
road.

The West Division will feature Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois,
Murray State, Southeast Missouri, SIU Edwardsville and UT Martin.
The Golden Eagles will face each team in the west one time, with
SIUE, EIU and UTM coming to Eblen Center.

(The OVC will also feature divisional play in men’s and
women’s basketball and softball beginning this year).

Along with the expanded field of teams, the OVC playoffs will
also grow from six to eight teams. The top eight teams that make
the tournament will be seeded according to OVC winning percentage,
regardless of division. The bracket format will be announced at a
later date.

Tech will host eight matches during the season, all of which
come in OVC play. Along with its home opener against Jacksonville
State, the Golden Eagles will host UT Martin (Sept. 29), Eastern
Kentucky (Oct. 12), Morehead State (Oct. 13), Belmont (Oct. 19),
Tennessee State (Oct. 20), SIUE (Nov. 2) and Eastern Illinois (Nov.
3).